California hits solar-energy milestone

Brightsource's solar farms focus the sun's energy on a tower where the heat turns water to steam to drive a turbine. It is building such a project in Ivanpah, Calif., near the Nevada border.Courtesy — Brightsource

Brightsource's solar farms focus the sun's energy on a tower where the heat turns water to steam to drive a turbine. It is building such a project in Ivanpah, Calif., near the Nevada border.
/ Brightsource

California's big solar farms have surpassed a new milestone amid the late summer heat, reaching one gigawatt of electrical generation capacity, the state's main grid operator said Tuesday.

The state's large-scale solar fields hit a new peak in production on Friday at nearly 1.1 gigawatts, or 1.1 billion watts, according to the California Independent System Operator.

That peak output, which does not account for rooftop solar and other small-scale generation, is enough to offset two large-scale natural gas power plants. It is also close to the peak output for a single nuclear reactor at either Diablo Canyon or the currently idled San Onofre plants.

State energy officials planned to discuss progress toward renewable energy portfolio goals among electricity retailers on Wednesday at a symposium in Sacramento. California law dictates that 33 percent of electricity sales by 2020 must come from renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass or small hydroelectric plants.